Fishdom for iOS earned Playrix legions of fans with its colorful tiles and well designed levels. Now Playrix is back with another 120 levels of Match-3 fun in Fishdom 2 HD. The new game offers newly designed levels and 4 new fish tanks to fill with fish and decorate with items. Sure, the gameplay follows the same formula, but the long and fun journey is nonetheless worth the time and money. Fishdom 2 is free to download and try, and it costs $4.99 to unlock the full version.

Gameplay

Fish needs kingdoms just like we do. In Fishdom, you must build beautiful aquariums and fill them with different fish and decorate them with corals and themed items. How do you get all the money to do this, you ask? By playing Match-3 games. Even though the goal of the seems to be building fish kingdoms in 4 tanks themed in Ranch, Egyptian, Merworld plus one bonus vacation themed aquarium, Match-3 is the real gameplay. You beat over 120 levels of Match-3 to earn money and bonus to furnish your fish tanks.

All the Match-3 gameplay features are here, and the levels get meaty right away. The game offers the usual obstacle, locked tiles, chained tiles, oddly shaped boards and much more. You get the usual bonuses as well, different sizes of bombs, lightning and many others as well. The game offers tips for the Match-3 gameplay in the fish tank view, but the veterans of Match-3 games and the first Fishdom game can just pick this up and play.

Fishdom 2 offers three types of purchases for your tanks including fish, corals and accessories. The prices of the items match the money you make in Match-3 well, so that you can keep buying items after a couple of Match-3 games. The game lets you design and redesign the tanks as many times as you like. Just drag the items you don't need to the trash or move any items you've placed in the tank to more suitable places.

Graphics & Sound

The graphics in Fishdom 2 HD is excellent. The desktop version's bright tiles, sharp game boards and polished backgrounds translate well on the iPad Retina display in the port. The game looks bright and color and very sharp on the retina screen. The game has enough varied designs in levels and mix them well so that you don't feel like you've been playing the same level over and over. The fish tanks have cute graphics as well with nicely rendered themed decor pieces and bright and colorful fish.

Audio package is equally polished with relaxing background music and appropriate sound FX for both Match-3 and fish tank building portions of the gameplay.

Conclusion

If you're a Match-3 fan, Fishdom 2 is a great title to crunch your thirst. The game offers ton of levels and 4 fish tanks to fill and decorate. We love the mix of various levels and the freedom of decorating and redecorating the fish tanks. The game has balanced AI and eye-catching graphics. It's also nice that you can try before you buy the entire game.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics: -4.5- Sharp and colorful on the iPad's retina screen.Sound: -4- Nice and relaxing BGM and appropriate sound FX.Controls: -5- Very easy to use, game offers tips to walk you through the UI. Gameplay: -4.5- Beefy amount of gameplay, fish tank building breaks up the Match-3 gameplay a bit, nicely designed.

Playing Hints and Tips:

Some times the fish in the tank will prompt you for the next purchase. Watch for what they're thinking.